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GLERL 2006 Milestone Reports
< GLERL 2006 Milestone main page
GOAL 1: Ecosystem
Scientist: Dr. Gary Fahnenstiel (GLERL)
NOAA Performance Objective: Increase number of regional coastal and marine ecosystems delineated with approved indicators of ecological health and socio-economic benefits that are monitored and understood.
NOAA Corporate Measure: TBD
Ecosystem Research Program Performance Measure: ERP Measure 1: Number of U.S. coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes ecosystems with science-based warning systems that decrease human health risks.
OAR Performance Measure: Increased number and accuracy of forecasts of significant ecological events and trends (e.g., harmful algal blooms, coral bleaching and population shifts), that provide necessary information for NOAA’s stewardship responsibilities.
NOAA Program: Ecosystem Research
Milestone: NOAA’s Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health: HAB event response will establish a multi-institutional HABs program in the Great Lakes with initial focus on Lake Erie and develop a web page.
Purpose: In cooperation with several federal, state and academic scientists, GLERL developed a regional research program for monitoring and event response of harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes.
Efforts and Results (to date): Scientists from the Florida Institute of Oceanography (Univ. South Florida), Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research (NOAA), and Old Woman Creek National Estuary (State of Ohio and NOAA) assisted GLERL scientists with the development of a monitoring and event response program to Microcystis blooms in the Great Lakes. Microcystis, a toxin-producing cyanobacterium, has become common in several shallow, productive regions of the Great Lakes including western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. During the past year, GLERL initiated a monitoring and event response program to Microcystis blooms in several areas of the Great Lakes (Saginaw Bay, western Lake Erie, Muskegon Lake, and Bear Lake). Results from this monitoring were posted on a web site at GLERL, and made available to the public. This web site was the first HAB event response site in the Great Lakes, and should serve as a model for the development of public response activities. Monitoring of these blooms was aided by use of remote sensing and field sampling by GLERL researchers.
Additionally, a research program was developed to monitor the distributions of toxin concentrations in several regions of the Great Lakes, and determine the factors controlling microcystin production. In the summers of 2004 and 2005, microcystin concentrations and Microcystis cell densities were mapped in western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay during the summers of 2004 and 2005. Concentrations greater than 1 µg L-1 were commonly found at stations near the lake edges and in surface scums near docks and piers, where human exposure would be the greatest. These data are significant in understanding the human health hazards associated with Microcystis blooms and could provide valuable input into models that would forecast the movement of HAB blooms in this region. A PCR-based assay was developed to determine if Microcystis colonies were comprised of toxic or non-toxic strains. The proportion of toxic colonies was compared to the microcystin concentrations at a given location and preliminary data suggests that there are a higher percentage of toxic Microcystis colonies at stations with higher microcystin concentrations. Thus, genetics appears to be an important factor determining microcystin productions.
Customer(s): The users of products from this milestone will include federal state and academic researchers, local and state health officials, and the local public from several regions of the Great Lakes.
Cause Factors (if milestone not met):
N/A
Revised Completion Date (if milestone not met):
N/A
Last updated: 2006-07-03 mbl